


A second chance

by Amara22



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 06:28:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14847536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amara22/pseuds/Amara22
Summary: Hermione and severus get sent back in time to change the fate of the world.





	A second chance

AN: This story is a oneshot because I cannot for the life of me write Harry Potter’s characters. If anyone wants to use this idea and turn it into a multichaptered fic go ahead and leave me a msg I would love to read it. It’s a very basic plot line.  
I own nothing

Chapter one

Hermione Jean Granger died. She was struck down by a curse and in a twisted turn of events she landed on top of the already dead Severus Snape. Harry may have returned from the dead after surviving the killing curse twice but that didn’t mean he was immune. The Battle of Hogwarts turned into a slaughter and all her friends were dead. She had taken a moment to catch her breath while smiling sadly at Severus who had tried everything and anything to make sure Lily’s boy survived but he had not. Hermione had died with her last thought being that she wished she could have saved everyone they lost in the war.

She opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. She was lying on top of Severus who was waking up and it seemed they were in Kings Cross station.

“How did he end up here? He was supposed to have already passed on.” 

“Don’t look at me. I’m not Death.”

“His soul got dragged here with the girl. Its not my fault that she landed on top of his corpse. When we called her, she dragged him with her, blame the girl Magic.”

Hermione and Severus looked at the three people confused. There was a man dressed in a black suit standing next to a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a white dress and another lady wearing purple robes with brown hair and grey eyes and they were bickering. Hermione shared a look with Severus who simply raised an eyebrow and whistled.

“Not that listening to your conversation is not charming and all but what in Merlins name is going on?” asked Severus.

The woman wearing the robe spoke, “Well, we three are siblings. The blonde is my sister Fate next to me is my brother Death and I am Magic. Now before you tell me none of this is possible we don’t have time for that conversation instead I will tell you that the war went wrong. When Tom created horcruxes he effectively removed himself from our sphere of influence. We tried to correct it with the prophecy but that just muddled everything up even more and now we have an outcome that was not meant to be. We can only guide whole souls and that too we are merely guides we cannot force people along paths. We meant to bring Hermione here so we could offer her an opportunity to go to the past and end the war.”

“Why me and if you were calling me why did Professor Snape come along?” asked Hermione.

Magic waved her hand, “You died wishing you could have saved everyone. Your friend Harry died with the knowledge that he would see his family in the afterlife, he made peace with the fact that he would die, and there was no way for us to call him back here. You wished for a second chance so because things went so badly in the war the first time we used it as an excuse to meddle. We cannot directly interfere its against the rules but there are loopholes, your dying wish can be exploited as a loophole to fix this mess. Severus just got pulled along with your soul, when a place is turned into a battlefield it takes a little time for all the souls to properly cross over, even though he died he was unable to fully move on in time and he came with you.” 

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

Fate was the one who spoke this time, “Tom Riddle was supposed to have fallen during his second confrontation with Albus Dumbledore and Alastair Moody. His followers would have been imprisoned or kissed depending on their crimes and purebloods would have been forced to recognize that they cannot just ignore their problems and hope it went away. They would start a magical tradition course at Hogwarts which would allow the Pagan traditions to be taught and celebrated. This would be a compromise to the Dark and Grey families who only joined because they were tired of Dumbledore’s people trying to change the magical world to become a replica of the muggle world.

This would eventually lead to less discrimination towards muggleborns as they were embracing the magical world instead of trying to change it which was the major reason why supporters of the old ways didn’t marry muggleborns even Lily Evans was taught to act as a pureblood Lady before Dorea gave her blessing for marriage and purebloods would start marrying more muggleborns leading to more half blood children born with access to family magic which would eventually lead to a study on why halfbloods have more power than purebloods. Someone eventually decides to do a heritage test on those born to muggles and realizing that they came from squib lines which meant that Houses which have been thought lost would find heirs and the country would flourish. It would take time for all this to happen but it would get the ball rolling. That was the purpose of having a Dark Lord. The inbreeding is killing the magical lines, some people would have died but not so many that entire lines were lost they way it happened now.

When Gellert and Albus had their fight the effects of that battle shaped the magical world for over 50 years. Tom was not supposed to be capable of bringing about this much devastation, he wasn’t supposed to impact Britain by wiping out so many families and bringing the world to a standstill but he was a catalyst for change just not the change we first predicted he would be.”

Magic picked up from her sister, “We will send you back to the year 1977. It should be around Christmas. I believe Severus was in his last year of school at the time. It is also the Summer that the raids started and the following year entire families will be wiped out. You get three months to find and destroy the horcruxes and hopefully kill Tom ending the war. People are already terrified of him. The war ends, everyone lives and your friends and family never have to live the horror that they went through.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes, “Why three months?”

Death was the one who answered, “We cannot keep you in that time line. Once the three months are up you will have to die so that you can be born again. You are going to meddle but you cannot stay in the time before your birth. In 1980 your soul will return to where it belongs. You will be born again without your memories and the life that you lived will be wiped away from you. When you turn 11 you go off to Hogwarts again to experience your life that would not be affected by war.”

Hermione understood that but she would not go alone, she would need help she knew almost nothing about the first war, “I’ll go if you send Severus back with me. I cannot do it alone. I know nothing about that time period.”

Death nodded, “He will merge with his younger self if he consents to go and he will be stuck there.”

“I will not.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Lily will live and you will have the chance to befriend her once more. You cannot just ignore the chance to save her before the nightmare even began.”

Severus scrowled but admitted that she was right. He could not stand by and just let Hermione muddle through a time that she herself did not even truly understand, knowing her and her bleeding heart she would attempt to befriend his younger self or something even more horrifying. He would help her and that would ensure that Lily would live and his debt would be repaid. 

He opened his eyes and found himself back in his childhood home with Hermione lying on top of him. Her hair was darker and so was her skin. She looked almost olive toned probably so that when she was born and entered the wizarding world no one would notice the similarities. He also found that his memories from after the age of 25 had begun to fade. He still had his muscle memory and knowledge of magic however Severus Snape felt younger, probably a side effect of merging with his younger self because he once again felt 25 years old.

The two of them worked surprisingly well together save a few arguments. They were both extremely logical people who had a mission to complete and they had the same working ethic, they both poured their heart and soul into their research and they both had an extremely strategic minds. They created lists on everything Severus knew about this timeline and everyone who would currently be alive. Severus remembered a raid that took place the day after Christmas which was in two weeks. He was there and many people died but if they got all the horcruxes and destroyed it then   
hopefully they could kill him in two weeks when he appeared for the raid. The only thing that she did that truly annoyed him was her humming that blasted song every single time she got nervous or she was thinking hard. He couldn’t get it out of his head and he blamed her. She would laugh whenever he would scrowl at her humming and would try to get him to sing along because she ‘knew he knew the words’ even if it were true he would never admit it. 

The ring and locket were easy to get. Hermione remembered that Regulus only went after the locket after his graduation which would be next year so they didn’t need to worry about him dying to get it. They snuck into Hogwarts to get the diadem using the passageway from Honeydukes and got that too. They already had three of the horcruxes by the end of the first week, the problem was that they would need to get into the bank for the cup and the dairy was in Malfoy manor. Severus was able to steal it when he visited as he was still being recruited but the cup was the problem. 

At the beginning of the second week Severus gave in and contacted Regulus. He told him he needed the cup from his cousins vault and told him they already had the locket so Regulus used his mother to get him inside took some trinkets and the cup leaving behind a fake. He used his advantage of being the favorite son and he played his part well. He also told Severus that whatever he was planning on doing he needed it done before the New Year as that was when he was due to be marked and he was terrified someone would find out. Severus assured his old friend that he would make sure nothing happened to him. He had always regretted not knowing what happened to Regulus, he had been a better man than his brother and the closest thing to a real friend Severus had had after he lost Lily. He even tried to make him second guess his decision of joining Tom without giving himself away.

Tom knew when they were destroyed, he could feel it, Hermione was sure of that because she remembered that when the diadem was killed He screamed and started launching curses at the students so they would wait until he started dueling Albus, destroy them all with fiendfyre and Albus could use his shock of all 5 pieces being destroyed together as a distraction to kill him.

Hermione remained hidden in Diagon Alley when she spotted a flash of red hair and saw James talking to Lily. She was shocked neither of them knew that they were here during the raid. Severus never mentioned it and she assumed that he hadn’t known. Harry truly did look his father but watching Lily her facial expressions and her body language she knew that was all Lily. Harry had more of his mother in him than they ever realized because watching Lily smile and laugh, it was almost a mirror image of Harry and it was a bittersweet thought. Her brother had deserved so much more than what he got but in the end she couldn’t help but agree with Harry, he had lived a cursed life with only a few stolen moments of happiness.

While she was lost in her thoughts Sirius Black was watching the unknown witch who seemed lost in thought and thought about approaching her for a date, she looked pretty and he was sure that she did not go to Hogwarts. Her chocolate colored curls fell all the way down to her waist and her skin was lovely but it was her eyes that held him. Her eyes shined with intelligence, sorrow and promises, she locked eyes with him and instead of blushing she held his gaze and he couldn’t decipher the emotions that ran through her eyes guilt, sorrow, happiness and determination.

Hermione was startled to see Sirius Black but looking at him so young, healthy and happy she could help but steel herself in determination to ensure that he never suffered the horrifying fate she knew was awaiting him. She wanted to live not be broken down by the weight of a war that none of them should ever been apart of.

There was a pop and Tom appeared in all his glory looking startling human, he had a nose, and hair but his eyes were blood red and he already started throwing curses followed by the people in masks, his death eaters. James pulled Lily behind a wall when Sirius and Remus appeared next to them as well. The Headmaster appeared as well and then she saw Severus nod at her. It was time to destroy them all and Albus could defeat him when a stray curse hit the wall she was hiding behind and spent her sprawling into dirt, she clutched the metal box to her chest. 

Sirius saw her sprawled in the dirt clutching something to her chest and before he could even think about what he was about to do he was already moving towards her. He wanted to protect her for some odd reason.

Tom could sense his soul pieces when they were near she and Severus both knew that and Hermione bit her lip as his blood red eyes narrowed at the brunette in the dirt and he knew what she had so he stopped dueling Albus cast a widespread banishing charm sending the old man flying backwards and started throwing curses at her. Sirius cursed when The Dark Lord himself started cursing the girl and was forced to dive aside to save his life. Hermione put up a shield and everyone paused when they heard her scream for Severus.

At the back of her mind Hermione noticed that Sirius had tried to come to her and was now gaping at her, Lily’s eyes widened and James jaw had dropped but she knew that he would protect her. They were friends and he was an honorable man, a grumpy one but he wanted this war over and he would not abandon her.

Severus cursed when he realized that they were here. He had not thought of them while running around trying to help Hermione he actually forgot that they were still alive until he saw the look of shock on their faces when she called for him. Severus ignored them for now, he was an adult and they both had more important things to do than worry about them. He turned into black mist and rushed to her aid, landing in front of her and hurling curses at the Dark Lord himself. People stopped and stared as they dueled, he never showed his true power while in school not truly knowing how much raw power he truly had as he had no parent or mentor that cared until the Dark Lord taught him and now when the Dark Lord was still just starting out, when he was still inventing spells and not yet lost to his madness he was an equal match for him. They traded curses and hexes while even the Headmaster looked stunned.

“Destroy it Mia.” He shouted as he ducked a killing curse. 

Hermione wanted to groan, the plan was for the headmaster to kill him not Severus but beggars cannot be choosers at this point so she hit the box with fiendfyre and Tom screamed so Severus hit him in the neck with a cutting curse, the one he created, the one who at this point in time only he knew the counter curse too.

The fire destroyed his soul anchors and died choking on his own blood so she got up and limped towards him. There was utter silence as people came to the conclusion that a school boy defeated the Dark Lord and then Hermione broke the silence, “He hit me with something Severus.”

The people watched wide eyed as the brunette who he had fought to protect fell unconscious into his arms as his eyes widened in panic and he apparated away. 

Lily and James just stared at the Dark Lords corpse. The one person who they had mocked, humiliated, turned their backs on and was absolutely sure would become a death eater just killed him. Lily looked at her once upon a time friend and wondered what the hell happened to him, she wondered if that hate filled boy who was finally gone and the boy that she knew the Sev that she knew as a child had found himself again. 

Severus received an Order of Merlin first class, and he was now a Hero everyone wanted to be his friend or kill him for his part in their Lords death but Severus did not leave his muggle home the whole summer. He and Hermione discussed her health. There were black veins all over her and he believed it was a curse which spread poison all throughout her body when the black veins reached her heart she would die and they both knew she would die in February, exactly three months since she came to the past.

They developed a strong friendship in the time he spent with her, reading talking, debating. She made him send forward several of his potions which he had not created for many years for testing and after a month he already had a steady income from all his medicinal potions. Then she took him shopping, cut his hair and even put him on several nutrient potions to combat his malnutrition. As a child he had not had the money for food and as an adult he just didn’t care to take care of himself. He even got his teeth whitened and she fixed his nose which had been broken so many times he didn’t even know what the shape was supposed to be, so she vanished all the bones and re grew the damned thing saying she had wondered why he hadn’t done that for years. Severus indulged her because he knew she was a mothering person and without Potter and Weasley she needed to do something to feel needed until she died.

She was a special witch but he knew that she still loved Ron and she still mourned for him. Her death would be relief since she would be born again and live again without her memories this time. He would miss her when she was gone but he knew that he would see her again. The girl was like a fungus almost impossible to get rid off. School reopened and she urged him to go back. The magical world was crying for a glimpse of their savior and needed to finish school and then he would be free. He could do whatever he wanted and no longer where his mistakes chaining him to live a life of regret. She wanted him to be happy and he finally had a future one of his own choosing to look forward too.

 

Lily and James were dating and Severus well he was trying to find peace. Everyone suddenly wanted to be his friend so he started cursing the morons who thought that they could get vengeance for their parents fate and he was quickly left alone. He just wanted peace. He lived his whole life in solitude and he was unused to all this attention. A few times he saw Lily almost looking like she wanted to say something but he walked away. She had chosen Potter, forgiven Potter but not him and he was not foolish enough to believe that she would return to him. He did not want to have to hear her say it. He also did not know what to say to her anymore. 

Hermione knew that her time was up. Severus wrote to her, hating the fame and the people but he kept them all at arms length even Lily. She knew that it probably wasn’t fair to Harry but he was not yet born and Lily deserved to know what all her options were. She was sure that James loved Lily but she couldn’t help but believe that Severus loved her more; the only question was who would Lily choose but she would not be around to find out. Her time was up and Severus would see her again in 13 years if he decided to teach again but she would not know him. She didn’t want to die alone and here in this time her only friend was Severus so she wanted to be with him.

She called for Severus’s elf Missy to take her to Hogwarts uncaring of the fact that all she wore was one of Severus’s night shirts. She appeared in the middle of the Great Hall during dinner holding the House elfs hand when she lost all feeling in her legs and as she crumbled to the ground Severus caught her.

Severus noticed what she wore and almost face palmed then he saw the look of lust on Black and Lily staring wide eyed and noticed she lost feeling in her legs so he ran her name on his lips and caught her.

“You need to stop stealing my clothes.”

She laughed, “Take me to the astronomy tower. I want to see the stars.”

Severus undid her glamour and everyone saw the black lines all over her body and he sighed. He swept her up into his arms and ran to the tower; he knew that he teachers and the marauders were following him. He settled her onto his lap and let her see the stars. He knew they were all there, listening but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

“You still love Lily.” Said Hermione and the both heard a gasp from the people listening in on their conversation.

“I never stopped. You still love Ron.” He replied and she giggled.

“I never stopped. We are a lot alike Severus. I knew I wanted to marry Ron since I was 13 years old and if I had met him earlier I would have known it then like you did with Lily. I’m sure James loves her but I believe that you love her more. She deserves to know how much you did for her, she deserves to know that even when you were at your lowest you always loved her. You lost your way Severus but the one constant thing in your life was that you loved her and no matter what happened you would have done anything for her.”

“I did what I did to repay a debt. Lily’s family fed me and patched me up even gave me a place to sleep when dad got bad. I owed her, coming here with you, you were my redemption. I did it because you needed me not because you tried to save me first.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “You love me Sev I know you do just and I know that you know that I love you but just like I will always love Ron you will always love Lily Evans. You love me Severus its just that you love Lily a little bit more, I was just second choice and you know that if I could choose Ron I would have.”

Severus rolled his, “It doesn’t mean that I wont miss you.”

“No but you are no stranger to pain and I always hated that. I hated how much you would endure and just never seem to break. It wasn’t fair, you were failed by the people who were supposed to care your mother, father, grandfather Lily too and especially Dumbledore. I will never forgive him for allowing Black to get away with what he had done. Dumbledore shouldn’t be allowed near children, his way is to ignore abuse and hope it turns people into normal human beings but we both know Severus how broken children grow up to be monsters and I will always admire your strength, the strength you had to dig and claw your way out of the darkness that you were losing yourself in.”

Severus cradled her cheek, “You make me sound like a hero.”

Hermione giggled, “You are a hero but that wasn’t by choice the best word to describe you would be anti-hero, no Severus you are just a man, a man who has made mistakes and accepted the consequences of those mistakes and sought redemption, you’re just a man Severus fighting for the woman he loves, fighting for the right to love her, and to be worthy of that love. You’re just a man who loves Lily so much that you fight a war to protect even a piece of her.”  
Severus chuckled, “The Princes have always been known for being extreme types of people, either cowards or heroes, powerful or squibs, we never did anything average it was a curse because when we loved we did it with every piece of our souls.”

Hermione looked up at the stars and started singing.

Well I heard there was a secret cord

That David played and it pleased the lord 

But you don’t really care for music do you?

Severus joined in with her remembering the song that she sang every single morning, knowing that it brought her peace.

Well it goes like this, the fourth the fifth

The minor fall and the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah 

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw bathing on the roof

Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew ya

She tied you to her kitchen chair

She broke your throne and she cut your hair

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

But baby I’ve been here before 

I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor

You know, I used to live alone before I knew ya

And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch

And love is not a victory march 

It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know

Whats really going on below

But now you never show that to me do ya

But remember when I loved in you

And the holy dove was moving too

And every breath we drew was hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above

but all I’ve ever learned from love

was how to shoot somebody that out drew ya

and its not a cry that you hear at night

its not somebody whose seen the light

it’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hermione took deep breaths as he finished the song, “Severus find happiness. Promise me that you will be happy even if its not with Lily.”

“I promise.”

“Goodbye Severus Snape.”

The hand that caressed his cheek fell back to the ground and she did not move again. Severus held her and cried, for the past, the future, for his sins, his mistakes, the people he lost, the people he found again and for his friend. 

Albus pried her body out of his arms and looked sadly at the young broken man in front of him and sighed. It had been his actions or rather inaction that had created Tom Riddle and he had almost driven another boy so much like him to the edge. Minerva sometimes told him that he believed too much in the good of people that he wasn’t seeing his students clearly and for the first time he wondered how true that was, he wondered how much their suffering affected them and he wondered what Arianna would do or say if she could see how utterly he had failed. He had stayed here because of Tom and now that was no longer an issue he supposed maybe it was time he retired, maybe travelled and researched again, maybe it would be best to leave taking care of children to the next generation. Albus took young womans corpse to the hospital wing and wondered exactly who she was and how she had known the things that she did but he also took a moment to thank her, for being there for Severus when he couldn’t be, he thanked her from saving him when he hadn’t even tried and he regretted it.

Severus buried her next to his mother in the muggle world. Severus and Lily spoke about everything, his life, why he was heading to the death eaters, the bullying, trying and failing to protect Lily from his housemates. Lily for the first time in years saw the Severus she knew as a child. The child who wore rags with riches in his eyes the one who told her that she was a witch and taught her everything he could about the world she now lived in, for the first time since fifth year she found her friend and he loved her.

Her renewing their friendship soured her relationship with James until eventually she ended it and went home to him. Lily Evans married Severus Snape in 1979 and she bore him three children. Two boys and a girl. James eventually married Marlene McKinnon and Sirius Black married Amelia Bones and in 1992 Harry Severus Snape met Hermione Jean Granger on the train to Hogwarts. When he saw her, he smiled and hummed Hallelujah as he went home, he had managed to keep his promise, he was happy and he had found peace.


End file.
